My Name is Eh-lick

So... I'm all done my language training and will start work Tuesday after a game of wheelchair basketball with disabled students as part of UN International Volunteer day festivities. Over the last week and a bit I have had the opportunity to take in the sights of Vientianne and share beers with my new Lao friends that work at the guest house. They have been incredibly good to me so in turn I designed some business cards and even got up early this morning to mop the floors of the restaurant. As per usual I had trouble waking up on time and missed my chance to go the busy morning market at 6:00.

I have found a place to live and now have a sweet Giant mountain bike - no rules on the road so didn't think motorbike was a good idea, a new model Nokia mobile that does all sorts of awesome whizz bang stuff with the computer that companies in Canada disable on their phones so you have to pay up, and have found a place to live, a big safe house with gates that I will share with an Aussie lady named Kelly who has been working in education here in Vientiane for a few years.

Tomorrow is a holiday in lieu of Dec. 2nd (Saturday) which is the National Holiday, celebrating 32 years since the Lao people defeated the so called "U.S. Imperialists" and the Lao People's Revolutionary Party came to power led by "Uncle" Kayasone as they call him. I have had the chance to visit both the national museum and the Kayasone museum both of which have substantial amounts of weaponry and photographs of villagers that shot down American planes with a single rifle shot. It was actually incredible to read about... thousands of people lived in caves in the Karst landscape where they housed manufacturing facilities, printing presses (... coool!!.. geek it's true), and schools. Laos is the most bombed country per capita in the world and was often simply used as a place to dump ordinance with no particular target if a mission could not be carried out in Northern Vietnam. The Yanks thought it was better to just drop bombs in the Lao country side than to risk trying to land their planes with their payload. I watched a documentary and presentation last week at "Sticky Fingers" (an Aussie owned pub where alot of "falang" - foreigners go, of which I am now a regular I suppose) that was put on by MAG (Mines Advisory Group) which is understandably very active in the Lao country side. I can't believe they still use cluster bombs.. I got to hold a few "bombies" - the small bombs that come out of the cluster bomb shells.. gave me shivers.

So yeah.. that is pretty rotten stuff... now for some nice pictures.

A couple monks walking home from the Wat (temple) where they do all sorts of things from construction and carpentry to chanting and laughing and of course meditate.

Patouxay - Patou means gate, Xay means victory. The cement was donated by the French for road construction but hey, it was French-Indochina so maybe the when in Rome principle at play.. don't know if that works. (Note: 2nd shot Photoshoped)

Panorama looking North from the top of Patouxay, It is flat in Vientiane but about 100 km's away the karst mountains start, I'll be spending Christmas in Luang Prabang, said to be the most beautiful place in the country and was the old capital and home to the oldest temples in the country


Naga at the steps to Wat Sisaket - the oldest in Vientiane. Lao people are said to be born in the beginning from a Naga. Other than that the Naga is the protector of Buddha, especially on Saturday. There is a Buddha for every day of the week. Saturday Buddha has Naga over his head and is protected. Tuesday's Buddha is lying down on his/her (I'm really not sure, the Indian style Buddha seems like it could be both) side sleeping. Depending on what day you were born on you are said to have that strength of the Buddha. I think I was born on a Tuesday, it explains alot.

Me at Wat Sisaket.. It think my eyes are closed.


That Luang - A stupa surrouded by several Wats. It is used for festivals and is said to have contained the sternum of the Buddha itself.. although acheological digs have yet to reveal anything. It has been destroyed a whole bunch of times by the Burmese, Thai, and yes.. damaged by the Americans as well. At one point the Stupa was built of solid gold... but now it is painted cement.



Some great Commie momuments and Uncle Kayasone's museum


I went and visited a smaller village where they build cisternes for rain water collection as the poor have no water of course. It costs about 40 bucks a tank and there are about 200 houses in the village that can use one. The dude beside me is the owner that I have been having the odd pop with at the guest house. He was telling me that the Rotary Club has donated 500 dollars so far and they are trying to find more funding, however, I'm not so sure how much of the money would go to the villagers for tanks and how much would go to Mr. Sisavone here and the Village Chiefs beer fund... But it is still a great idea and they are doing a good deed for folks.

Me and my best bud so far Joy (in english means tin) He is an English teacher at the secondary school and is excellent at grammar and speaking is well on it's way. Hopefully he will pass his English exam to get scholarship to study computers in Malaysia.

So that is it for now... hopefully when I start work I will be able to get smaller posts in more frequently as my butt is sore from sitting in here waiting for pictures to upload. Soooo slooowww... so lots of time to read up on Canadian news.. Stephane Dion.. I DIG!!